Topics that might be over-taught in university
Topics taught relatively more than their importance might warrant.
Sample of data from the
1998 Survey of Software Practitioners
Rank |
Topic |
% Excess |
Knowledge after education (Q1) |
Overall importance(Q3+Q4)/2 |
1 |
Differential Equations |
115% |
2.7 |
1.3 |
2 |
Differential and Integral Calculus |
97% |
3.2 |
1.6 |
3 |
Chemistry |
73% |
2.2 |
1.3 |
4 |
Linear Algebra and Matrices |
50% |
3.1 |
2.0 |
5 |
Laplace and Fourier Transforms |
39% |
1.8 |
1.3 |
6 |
Physics |
37% |
2.7 |
2.0 |
7 |
Set Theory |
15% |
2.5 |
2.2 |
8 |
Probability and Statistics |
13% |
2.9 |
2.6 |
9 |
Combinatorics |
11% |
1.7 |
1.6 |
10 |
Computational Methods for Numeric Problems |
3% |
2.2 |
2.1 |